Loud: The Complete Series (A Bad Boy Alpha Male Romance) (14 page)

“Holy hell. Five?!”

“Five.”

“Damn. So what did you do?”

“What could I do? I ended it. Right there and then. I
packed up all of his stuff. Since I had a key, I drove to his place and hooked
up the tablet to his giant TV and I left the videos he’d made playing on a loop
so he'd see them as soon as he opened his front door when he got back from his
fishing trip. I packed up anything of mine that was at his apartment and as I
left, I dumped all of his stuff just outside of his door in a pile. I didn’t
even bother to lock the door as I left. I drove straight to the maintenance
office for my apartment and got my locks changed since he also had a key to my
place. I told the security guy at my building not let him in. That was it.”

“You guys didn't talk after that?”

“No. He tried calling, but I wouldn’t answer. What
could I say? What could he say? The evidence was there. And it was obvious it
had been going on for a long time, it wasn't like it had just been a single,
drunken one-night-stand or something. You know, something excusable — not that
something like that is really excusable, but it would have been way more
excusable than repeatedly banging a different girl every night and videoing
it.”

“Yeah. That's a real scumbag thing to do.”

“Understatement of the year. Bottom line, it broke my
heart and my spirit for quite a while.”

I wanted to reach across the table and take her hand,
but I wasn’t sure if that might be overstepping a boundary and we were just
making progress, so I decided against it. I didn't know what to do or say. The
story took me a little by surprise. I’d expected him to have cheated the minute
she said he’d been private about his tablet. I hadn’t expected to hear that
he’d been an amateur porn star. It pissed me off. If a guy wanted to be free to
sleep around, then he shouldn’t have been stringing anyone along, lying to
them, putting them at risk for God knows what. The guy was a douchebag. Plain
and simple. The more I thought about it, the hotter my blood boiled. Before I even
realized what I’d said, the words just seemed to slip out of my mouth.

“Want me to kick his ass?”

“I appreciate the offer,” she chuckled through her
tears. “But no, I don't want anyone to kick his ass. He’s not worth the effort.
I just don't want to ever see him or hear from him again.”

“Well, I can’t make any promises. If I ever see him,
the odds are I'm gonna kick his ass.”

Her laughter deepened. “Is that so? What if I told you
he's seven feet tall and weighs four hundred pounds?”

“I'd still kick his ass…or get my ass kicked trying!”

Her mood began to lighten and the tears stopped as her
laughter continued.

“Uh, is he seven feet and four hundred pounds?” I
asked. “Because if he is, he'd do really well in WWE.”

She threw her head back and covered her mouth with one
hand to keep from cackling. Her head shook back and forth as she composed
herself. “No, he's not. Pretty far from it, actually. He's just an average guy.
To be honest, I don’t know why I fell so hard for him. He's kind of an idiot,
really.”

“Maybe it's because…” I paused for dramatic effect and
lowered the tone of my voice. “You know nothing, Jon Snow,” I exaggerated my
expression and tried to maintain a straight face.

She crumpled up her napkin and threw it across the
table at me.

“Jerk!” she mumbled with a playful smile. “I'll show
you
who knows nothing!”

“Sorry, had to drop a
Game of Thrones
line in
at some stage tonight.” The grin on my face widened. It was great to see her
eyes light up with her smile. I was not a fan of seeing Brooke cry.

Our eyes locked and the chemistry erupted. If we had
tried to deny the pull before, in that moment, there was no way to refute it.
It was almost palpable. The waiter arrived just in time, holding a silver
platter stacked with samosas. We both blinked and looked away.

“Oh, wow, so these are the famous samosas,” she said.
“They'd better be as good as you've hyped them up to be or I'm gonna be highly
disappointed. Maybe even pissed.”

I laughed. “Do I even look remotely worried? They’re
so amazing I’ll pay for dinner if you don’t like them. I'm
that
confident, Brooke.”

“You’re already paying for dinner,” she joked.

“Valid point. But still, Mr. Patak knows a thing or
two about putting together a quality samosa. You won’t be disappointed, I can
tell ya that.”

“Well, I guess there's only one way to find out, isn't
there?” she said with a smile.

We dug in, completely forgetting about the blast from
Brooke’s past seated in the back of the restaurant.

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

Brooke

I had to admit, I was enjoying my time with Emerson,
but the memories that surfaced when Ben and Jess had walked into the restaurant
still held a sting of pain. Somehow, opening up to Emerson about what had
happened with Andrew eased that sting. I wasn’t even sure why I had been so
candid with him, but once I'd started talking about it, the words gushed out.
When it was all said, I'd told him everything.
Everything!
So much for
my resolve to keep my guard up and keep my distance. This man was an enigma.
One minute, I was certain he was a player and the last person I should trust
with anything, the next, I'd felt I could pour my heart out and it would be
completely safe with him.

Which is exactly what I did. Part of me was beginning
to regret that.

A little.

But there was a part of me that
wasn't
regretting it. A part that was actually glad I'd opened up. Talking about it
felt good, almost liberating. And, Emerson had listened with such compassion
that it was pretty tough not to feel even more attracted to him than I had
prior to the venting session.

Normally, being more attracted to a guy because he
exhibited admirable qualities wouldn’t be a bad thing. But this wasn’t a normal
situation. Being attracted to Emerson was a problem because he seemed like the
exact type of guy I was trying to avoid. The kind who would tell me that there
was nothing going on with him and Melissa, then jackhammer away at my bedroom
wall with her until ungodly hours of the morning. Not to mention, the other
girls who came to the parties he and Chris always threw seemed to be just as
into him as Melissa.

Granted, I'd seen a totally different side to Emerson
on several occasions with his passion for science, his commitment to our lab
work together, his interest in
Game of Thrones,
and his gentlemanly
nature, but it was a side I'd never expected to see. It was side that was so
much more decent than I'd imagined.

But the parties. The girls. His appalling friend,
Chris. The drinking.

I wasn't sure what to make of any of it. Part of me
wanted to confide in him, open up even more to him. It was obvious we had a
connection of some nature. There was no denying he felt a pull to me as much as
I did to him. Magnetism was the word that came to mind. Like it or not, I was
drawn to him. What I wasn’t drawn to, were the red flags, the warning signs
that kept flashing in my face keeping my suspicions on high alert.

How could I put my trust in a man who may very well do
the same thing to me Andrew did? I wasn’t going to put myself in a position to
be betrayed again. My heart was still healing and I had no intentions of
rushing the process.

I shook my head and pushed hard against my temples as
I pulled myself from my thoughts and back into the moment. I took a bite of the
samosa before me and groaned a little. They were actually that good.

“So, you're a samosa fan now, huh?” Emerson
challenged.

I tried to talk through the mouthful of food. “They're
great. I'll have to Google a recipe.”

“I've tried to make 'em. You really do have to get the
right ingredients. I'm talking authentic Indian stuff.”

I’d kind of forgotten about the curry Emerson had made
and brought over. He was an excellent cook. Yet another selling point in his
favor.

“I get what you're saying,” I acknowledged. “If you
don't have the right ingredients, sometimes it just doesn't come out like it
should and it ends up missing that…” I couldn’t quite think of how I wanted to
explain what I meant.

“That certain something that makes the dish unique,
that gives it its signature flavor or texture. Crucial elements!”

“Have you ever considered studying to be a chef?” I
asked. “It seems like you're really passionate about cooking.”

“I guess I am, but I'm not quite into it enough to go
to culinary school. Cooking is more of a hobby than something I would do as a
profession. Science is where my heart is. That's the field I wanna be in after
I graduate.”

I looked over Emerson’s shoulder as he talked and
panic shot through me. Ben was walking toward us and he'd spotted me.

“Shit,” I muttered.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ben's coming this way! Shit! I don’t want to deal
with this. What am I gonna do?”

“Tell me this quickly: what does Andrew do? How old is
he?”

“Huh?”

“Hurry, just tell me.”

“He's, uh, he's twenty-one, and he's studying business
management.”

Emerson shot me a wickedly hot grin. “Play along with
me Brooke, okay? Whatever I say, just go with it.”

“What? Are you serious?”

He winked at me. “I've never been more serious in my
life.”

I didn’t get a chance to respond. Ben was already at
our table wearing a shit-eating grin.

“Well, look who it is! Hey there, Brooke. Damn, it's
been a long time, girl. How you been?”

I forced a smile. “Hi, Ben. I've been good. How about
you?”

“Can't complain.” He moved his attention to Emerson,
looking him over.

“Who's this?” Ben asked me while extending a hand to
Emerson.

Emerson grinned savagely as he shook Ben's hand.

“Where are my manners?” I said apologetically. “Ben,
this is-” Emerson cut in.

“I'm Emerson. Brooke’s boyfriend.”

Ben raised an eyebrow as he let go of Emerson’s hand.
“Is that so, huh? So what, are you guys at the same college or something?”

“No. I finished college three years ago,” Emerson
responded matter of factly.

“Really? You look a bit young to be a graduate, no
offense.”

“None taken. I get that a lot. I’d like to say it’s
because I take care of myself, training for MMA and such, but it’s probably
good genes as much as anything.” Emerson exuded an air of confidence and
maturity. It was really something to watch.

“So, how old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Ben eyed Emerson curiously.

“I don’t mind at all. I'm twenty-five,” Emerson
replied.

Ben raised his eyebrows.

Emerson chuckled just a little, a very controlled
reaction. “Yeah, people are often surprised when they show up in my office,
especially the older guys, and I’m sitting behind the desk. They're not used to
seeing a twenty-five-year-old CEO, especially since I look even younger than my
age.”

“Whoa, seriously? Where do you work?”

“Pullman-Gretsch Aeronautics. Spacecraft engineering.
It’s a multinational company. In fact, I just got back from a meeting with an
engineering firm in Shanghai. So, of course, I had to take my girl out to
dinner.” Emerson turned and reached his hand out, caressing my face.

It was a gesture so genuine and intimate, even I
believed he meant it. His eyes met mine and an electricity shot through me. He
held my gaze until Ben spoke and I redirected my eyes to Ben.

“Well, alright then. So, uh, you two are pretty
serious, huh?”

“Absolutely,” Emerson said with a smile, still looking
at me. “Brooke is the best damn thing that's ever happened to me.”

My attention went back to Emerson, who was looking at
me with such conviction I almost had to catch my breath.

“The guy that let this girl go is a real tool,”
Emerson announced with more sincerity than I expected. Then he quickly turned
to Ben. “Oh, uh, no offense if that was you, man.”

“Er, no, Brooke and I never dated.”

“Oh good. Well then, I can say without worrying about
offending anyone, that whoever she dated before was an absolute grade-A moron
for letting her go. But, hey, thanks to that prick, she's mine now. I’m not
going to be that stupid,” Emerson said as he glanced at me before turning his
attention back to Ben. “So how is it that you know Brooke?” he asked.

“I'm Andrew's friend.”

Emerson scrunched his forehead a little and looked at
me. “Who’s Andrew?” He directed his question to me, but Ben answered.

“He's, uh, he's the guy who dated Brooke before you.”

“Oh, I see. Well, by all means, please tell him thank
you for me.”

I took the opportunity to try to ease the tension of
the moment, but only because I didn’t want to feel like I wasn’t involved in
the conversation at all. “I’m really glad you stopped by to say hi, Ben. It was
really nice to see you. But, I only have about an hour to spend with him before
he has to get to the MMA class he teaches, so I’d really like a little alone
time. I’m sure you understand.”

Emerson leaned a little and glanced in the direction
of Ben and Jess’ table. “I think your girlfriend, or whoever it is at that
table is trying to get your attention. It's not good to keep a lady waiting. I
believe in treating women with
respect,
man, you know?”

“Is that Jess?” I asked, looking across the room.

“Yeah,” Ben replied.

“Please tell her I said hello,” I insisted with the
brightest smile I could manage.

“I’ll do that,” Ben said and appeared to be about to
turn and leave, then pivoted back toward Emerson. “Did you say MMA?”

“Yeah, I teach a class and I'm fighting this weekend.
Have to defend my regional title. Won my last ten bouts with straight-up KOs.
It seems I've got a killer right hook. Get my drift?”

“Uh, yeah, man. I guess I better get back to Jess. Er,
nice seeing you again, Brooke. I'll, um, I'll tell Andrew you say hi.”

“Please do,” I cooed, smiling maliciously.

Ben turned around and shuffled off, scratching the
back of his head, glancing back at us a couple of times as he walked away. The
moment I knew he was out of earshot, I let out a stint of laughter.

“Oh my
God,
Emerson! You totally rock!”

He shot me a satisfied grin. “I saw the smug look on
his face when he saw you. I'm sure he was gonna tell you something like how
great Andrew was doing and how he was dating some new hot girl or whatever. So,
I just pulled a preemptive strike. You know what they say — being happy is the
best revenge. And now, that tool is going to go running back to tell his buddy
how you're dating a twenty-five-year-old CEO millionaire who also happens to be
a champion cage fighter. I can tell you, as a guy, he's gonna feel about two
feet tall.”

I beamed an enormous smile. “You really are such a
sweetheart,” I said. “Thank you for doing that. It…it means a lot to me.”

“It was my pleasure, Brooke. After hearing what that
jerk did to you and then seeing that Ben guy come walking up like he wanted to
rub it in your face, I couldn't let him get away with that.”

“Thank you.”

“De nada.”

“You speak Spanish?” I asked.

“Ha! Only the bare minimum of what we had to learn in
high school. You?”

“Well, I lived all over the world when I was a kid, so
I can speak quite a few languages, but none of them fluently anymore, I don’t
think. You know, use it or lose it. I haven’t used it lately.”

A look came over Emerson’s face like he’d remembered
something suddenly. “Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about the time
you spent in Japan. I really want to visit there someday.”

“Oh, Emerson, you have to! It's such an amazing place.
You should totally go when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. There are few more
spectacular sights in the world.”

“Sounds awesome! If only you could show me around the
place, huh?”

I laughed a little nervously, not sure if he was
flirting with me or not. I was inclined to believe he was. I could almost feel
the walls going back up. Words couldn’t express how much I appreciated what he
had just done for me, and if I was being honest with myself, part of me had
been pretty turned on by how he’d stuck his neck out for me. But the way every
nerve in my body tingled when he’d held my gaze and said what he’d said in
front of Ben, it all felt a little too real. And, I couldn't let him inside the
walls if I couldn’t trust him. That was the question still to be answered.
Could I?

I quickly finished my mouthful of curry and then
responded.

“Yeah. It would be cool to show you around Japan, but
I doubt I'll ever be back there. And what are the odds I’d be there when you're
there?”

A twinge of disappointment glistened in his eyes.

“Yeah,” he said softly. “What are the odds?”

We finished eating in relative silence with a little
small talk here and there. When we were done, Emerson asked for the bill.

“Shall we get going? I have some studying to do and
you have an MMA class to teach,” I said, trying to lighten the mood a little.

“Yeah, uh, yeah. I guess I've also got things to do.”
He forced a tense smile. “I'll go pay for dinner. Hope you enjoyed it.”

“I did. It was absolutely delicious. I'll have to come
back here sometime.”